Twisted
by abbyexists
Summary: C.M. Punk has offered a challenge to Randy Orton, whether he knew it or not, and Randy is determined to take it up. It doesn't matter to him who he hurts to succeed. Eve Torres was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do not own these characters.


"Is that twisted enough for you, Randal?"  
The words still echoed relentlessly in his mind. No way.  
No possible way would C.M. Punk best him in that category. Luring him away and then attacking him with a goddamn wrench like a coward- that wasn't sick, that was embarrassing.  
At least in the eyes of Randy Orton, who currently sat clutching his injured leg on a solitary bench backstage. There'd have to be a way to publicly top Punk's attempt. The thought infested is mind as he leaned his back against the wall, slowly beginning to release the pressure on his leg.  
At that moment, a certain Diva's Champion happened past, and hesitantly paused in front of him. Eve Torres had had a good night- winning her match and all. She gave him a secretly sympathetic look, knowing well that he wouldn't accept pity from her- or anyone, ever.  
"Hey, Randy, how's your leg?" She questioned cautiously, not wanting to directly mention anything about Punk.  
The Viper hadn't taken his eyes off the Diva as soon as she'd entered the hallway. The sight of her had sparked a plan. The plan he needed to reclaim his spot as most grossly unpredictable superstar in this place. The details were buzzing and connecting in his mind and he simultaneously succeeded to look undisturbed as he responded.  
"Bruised," He admitted, his tone steady. Eve pressed her lips together and gave her a look that said 'yeah, that's sad, that seemed to be the case.'  
Over the past few days, the two had interacted much more than previously. Thankfully, he thought. This wouldn't work unless she trusted him…and he could almost guarantee that she did. He'd never given her a reason not to.  
Others had noticed the interaction to- especially Gail Kim, who was set on the idea of getting the two together- which both of them shrugged off. Though he couldn't help but notice that Eve didn't seem to mind the thought all that much, but she'd playfully decline Gail's pressuring.  
As Eve shifted her weight onto her other foot and struggled to find an adequate next sentence, aware that the Viper's gaze hadn't left hers, Randy rose, albeit shakily and with help from the wall.  
"Eve," He started, moving past her towards the far end of the hall. "Walk with me."  
Spoken without even glancing over his shoulder at her- he would place money on the fact that she'd follow -, and with slight strain as he tried to cover a limp as much as possible.  
And she did follow, mentally cursing herself for doing so without hesitation. The Champion usually wasn't one to act on a whim, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was curious about the business Randy Orton had with her.  
"I've had this feeling recently," He began in his natural low voice. Not a lie. "Maybe you can help me confirm it." They'd walked for a bit and were standing at the quiet, slightly less well-lit end of the hall. Randy momentarily broke his stride to step in front of her and prevent the Diva from moving forward.  
She had listened intently, inquisitively, and had been just about to raise her eyes from the floor and ask him about the feeling, but paused when he stopped her.  
"Um-…yeah, sure, Randy, I'll help if I can," Eve offered slowly, eyebrows raised as she looked up at him, beginning to feel slightly anxious about their proximity.  
"Are you attracted to me, Eve?" The words felt…out of place on his tongue. He didn't talk like this- but she wouldn't know…she hadn't known him long enough for her to second-guess his words.  
The Diva was taken aback, and blinked in surprise, feeling heat rise to her face in slight embarrassment at the question.  
"Oh," She exhaled shortly. "…I don't really-"  
Randy interrupted her, stepping towards her and reaching forward to take her hand in the process, giving a comfortable half-smile to the Champion. She glanced down at the connection, but didn't pull back- this wasn't actually going on, was it? Even if they hadn't known each other very long, Eve could still be surprised by seeing something like this from the stoic, usually cold Randy Orton.  
"It's mutual," He assured her evenly, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead once.  
Eve could feel her heart-rate quicken, still standing in disbelief and raising her eyes upward as he pecked her, warmth returning to her cheeks for a different reason this time.

Just as Randy had anticipated, the backstage camera caught their exchange from down the hall, and the entire WWE Universe witnessed their moment.

The next few weeks, the pair had quite a few promos together- Randy wishing Eve luck in matches, congratulatory hugging after he won at Extreme Rules, and the Universe was infatuated by the pair. The fans weren't alone.  
Eve Torres was too excited, happy, surprised by the entire situation- not once did she see anything translucent about their 'relationship'. She wanted to call it that, and she did, and he never objected. The Diva cared for her counterpart, and was above everything, drifting on cloud nine at the fact that he cared back.  
That night, he'd invited her to valet him for his match against C.M. Punk- the match he'd been waiting for since a month ago, since the beginning of everything.

At the moment, Eve was pounding on the canvas from ringside, as Randy struggled to maneuver himself out of Punk's hold. After he did so, there was more back and forth between the two. Eventually, after Punk had whipped Randy into the corner, Eve yelled something at the Nexus leader from ringside, along the lines of "you're a coward!"  
C.M Punk heard this, and gave her a wild glare, before looking to his opponent who was breathing, back against the turnbuckle, and he hissed,  
"Control your dog, Randal!"  
He wasn't going to do anything about it, but he heard people in the front rows gasp, having understood what Punk said, and so Randy reacted, suddenly smacking the other man's jaw viciously, flooring him.  
After he'd recovered slightly on the ground, rubbing his jaw, the Nexus leader smiled sickly at Randy, pinpointing what he believed to be a weak spot.  
Before Randy could grab him and pull him up, he slid out of the ring and within moments had Eve in a headlock. Orton immediately followed him out.  
Eve struggled, but she was weakening, her eyes wide and set on Randy as he stood panting in front of them both, trying to figure out what to do.  
Punk continued his malicious smile, brightened by Eve's cry of "Randy..!" as she faded more. He reached out for a mic quickly, and the count was at three.  
"Quit, Randal! Quit the match right now, or I send your girlfriend to dreamland," The Nexus leader laughed, dropping the mic and releasing Eve, only to hoist her onto his shoulders for the GTS. Not that he'd do it, because Randy wouldn't let him. He'd quit, obviously.

But he didn't. The Viper relaxed his stance and just stood, watching Punk lean with the Diva's champion draped like a ragdoll across his shoulders, helpless.  
"C'mon Orton," Punk spoke, though people watching would have to read his lips with the mic gone. What is this? Why wasn't he quitting for Eve..? He hefted her body slightly, the count was at seven.

Suddenly, Randy stepped sideways towards the ring, shaking his head slowly to accompany the smirk that grew at the same slow rate, and he slid back into the ring.  
The Universe was on fire, booing both Punk and Randy, and screaming for Eve.  
The ref called "nine!" - Eve's head connected with Punk's knee, the ref called "ten!" and Punk joined Randy in the ring, the diva laying motionless on the floor.  
There was a momentary cease in noise from the crowd, but then a huge uproar as they realized what had happened.  
Even Punk stood staring at Randy once they were both in the ring. Orton smiled crookedly, eyebrows raised as if questioning him if he was surprised.  
And he was.  
Punk had thought for sure that the Viper would come to Eve's rescue- especially since…well, Randy Orton was a face, now. And his relationship with the Diva had been completely televised.  
People would hate him if he didn't save her… and they did. The heat from the crowd directed towards both men in the ring was more intense than it had been in an extremely long time.  
Randy basked in it.  
After a few moments, the men were at it again, and a medical team jogged ringside to tend to Eve who still hadn't moved. Throughout the entire time, and the rest of the match, and even after he'd won it, Randy didn't look at her. Not once.

Over the next month and more, there was hardly any contact between the two. Eve Torres had officially erased Randy Orton from her life. Physically. Mentally, though, she couldn't stop recalling the day, the moment he proved to the world what he really is.  
Conceited, manipulative, heartless, and maybe the best damn actor in this business.  
That was his definition to her, and mostly everyone else who'd seen what went down.

Eve strictly avoided wherever he went, but in her heart, she knew she wanted some closure. It was hard for her to accept that he went through weeks of trouble and secrecy pretending to…care for her, and gain her trust, just to show the world how twisted he was when he betrayed her. She still believed that whatever front he was putting up wasn't completely true, he must've felt some guilt, some sort of regret. After how genuine he seemed, everything compassionate he'd done for her in the previous weeks…there had to have been something. The Diva wouldn't think differently.

And she would get her closure.

After being told the general location of the Viper, Eve didn't hesitate. She didn't want to look weak, because she wasn't. The Diva walked right up behind him and pulled his shoulder around, so he'd face her.  
"We need to talk," She stated firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.  
Randy didn't even look at her, but continued wrapping the black tape over his wrist.  
"Go on." His tone was that of uncaring, uninterested boredom.  
It frustrated her to no end, and she eyed him intently.  
"…Why did you do it?" The question was hard enough to ask, and keeping her voice steady while standing there in front of him was even harder.  
Randy raised his eyes to meet hers, zero emotion present. He didn't want to deal with her right now, or ever. He told himself it was because she was annoying, pointless, not worth doing anything about, but there was something else beneath the surface.  
Eve swallowed and looked at him with an urging, pained expression, her strong demeanor beginning to break.  
"Answer me!" She ordered, not taking her eyes from his.  
"What do you want me to say," He lowered his hands now, and turned to face her directly.  
"I want- an…explanation..!" Eve looked up at him impatiently, feeling frustrated – at herself. After so long, and after so much, why did she still…?

Randy gave a small, bitter smile and shook his head.  
"I don't have an explanation. I _used _you, Eve... I thought that was obvious."  
It had been. She knew. And she could even guess why- to top Punk, to prove something to the world. To help himself.  
"Of course! You don't give a damn who you step on, on your way to the top!" The Diva's voice was sharper now, and it hurt to say it aloud. Why was she even doing this? She knew everything already…she could explain everything.  
Everything, except why she still cared for him. Except…why she still wanted him back in her life, and would give him her forgiveness in an instant if he asked for it. It killed her that she would, because she definitely shouldn't. He didn't deserve it.  
The bastard didn't deserve it.

"…No," Randy responded after a moment, studying her face. "I don't." That was normally true. Randy Orton didn't 'care', in general. But that was his other reason for not wanting to deal with Eve Torres- "normally" didn't apply here. As soon as he'd watched the GTS, he'd regretted his plan. It had worked- but he wished it never even happened. Because now this woman was standing before him, hurt, and demanding reasons that he couldn't even give her.  
"You used me," She repeated him, her voice cracking slightly, and she blinked to negate the sting in her eyes. "And you lied to me, and you stole my trust, and.." Eve reached a hand up to quickly brush the tear away from her eye as another slid down her opposite cheek. She glared weakly at him, finishing.  
"And you made me love you."

It was more than apparent how much what he'd done had affected her. Not once, until now, had he even seen her face, and Randy realized he'd been avoiding her as much as she'd been avoiding him. As he stood watching her break, he apologized to her in his mind. He couldn't bring himself to say it aloud, he had far too much pride. But he was sorry. They'd become close, and he enjoyed her company, and she wasn't someone he would ever go out of his way to damage. Yet, he had. And he was sorry.

Then, without any warning, Randy had reached out and wrapped his arm around Eve's waist, pulling her into him and leaning his head down to press his lips against hers. Eve's eyes flashed wide, and after a short gasp, (which was cut off), they eventually flickered closed. She moved a hand to lightly hold the side of his face, returning the kiss.  
As much as it hurt her, she wouldn't, and didn't, resist. Hot tears continued to slide down Eve's face, and she was frustrated.  
Frustrated because thanks to her, Randy Orton would once again be getting something he didn't deserve.


End file.
